Hydro Company Alectra Begins Merger Talks with Guelph Hydro
Published October 25, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Alectra, the recently formed hydro company that came together after the merger of multiple hydro companies (including Enersource), is now in talks to merge with Guelph Hydro.
Alectra recently announced that after more than a year of gathering community input, conducting industry research and performing in-depth financial analysis, the City of Guelph has announced it will begin merger negotiations between Guelph Hydro Electric Systems and Alectra Inc.
For Guelph Hydro customers, a merger with Alectra will help keep downward pressure on rates, an increased focus on innovation, and continued operations in the city of Guelph that includes the same service and local crews responding to local calls.
“When we started this asset review process a year ago, people told us they wanted better electricity distribution rates and the same, reliable service they get now. After extensive industry research, we’re confident a merger with Alectra is the best way to deliver what customers want, and more,” says Cam Guthrie, Mayor of Guelph. “A merger will help keep rates as low as possible, local crews will continue to respond to local calls and the City of Guelph will benefit from Alectra’s commitment to invest and innovate here in our community.”
Guelph Hydro would become part of a municipally-owned utility that is investing in emerging technologies that will benefit customers and help attract new business to Guelph. As part shareholder of a larger municipally-owned utility, the City of Guelph is expected to receive larger annual dividends, which will be re-invested in our community.
As the first electric utility in Southwestern Ontario to merge with Alectra, Guelph stands to benefit from local employment opportunities, including a Southwest Ontario Operations Hub at the site of Guelph Hydro’s current headquarters and a new Green Energy & Technology Centre, allowing for the development of innovative technologies and green energy solutions here in Guelph.
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“Our history of bringing utilities together has taught us that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, especially when it comes to providing customers with reliable, cost-effective service and more choices through the use of emerging energy technologies,” says Brian Bentz, President and CEO, Alectra. “We believe the City of Guelph and Guelph Hydro’s vision for how to serve customers, now and in the future, aligns well with that of Alectra and our shareholder municipalities.”
Public consultation has been a cornerstone of this initiative since it launched one year ago, and citizen-selected decision-making criteria helped inform Guelph City Council’s decisions thus far. Guelph Hydro customers can learn more and have their say at one of several opportunities for public input, to be announced in the coming weeks. Community members can also click here for more information and to submit questions and comments about the merger.
Following the next phase of community consultation, Guelph City Council will vote on the merger at a public meeting scheduled on December 13, 2017.
Alectra’s family of energy companies distributes electricity to nearly one million customers in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe Area and provides innovative energy solutions to these and thousands more across Ontario. The Alectra family of companies includes Alectra Inc., Alectra Utilities Corporation and Alectra Energy Solutions.
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